Disco Zoo’s latest update has brought a host of new features to NimbleBit’s casual puzzler.
The biggest change comes in the form of two new environments, city and space, which add twelve new animal types for you to hunt down for your exhibits. The city setting works much like previous ones, letting you trade coins to engage in the game’s Battleship-like expeditions to capture animals.
Space, however, can only be explored by spending a new in-game currency: the imaginatively titled Space Coins. These can only be earned by capturing specific animals to order from other habitats, or through in-app purchases.
The update also adds ways to jazz up your enclosures using eithe…

When we were young there were only two things we liked about school: trips to the zoo, and the end of term disco. It seems Nimblebit and Milkbag Games have similarly fond memories, as they have forced both these events together for their new collaboration Disco Zoo.
Despite the fact Disco Zoo will hit the App Store tomorrow, we are still a little short on details as to what the game will actually be.
From what we can gather , you have to travel the world to collect exotic animals – including dinosaurs. Once back at your at the zoo you must expand the tourist attraction to bring in extra cash, before throwing disco parties to get you animal and visitors strutting their funky stuff.…

Only One's developer, Ernest Szoka, seems to understand that, sometimes, the simplest ideas can be the best. Starting with a basic top-down hack-and-slash format, he has tweaked the concept just enough to turn it into something wonderful.
Only One is an arena brawler which throws waves of increasingly difficult enemies at you, and challenges you to be the last one standing. Beating your foes is not complicated - a simple slash of your sword usually gets the job done.
But this ap…

If you're on the lookout for a fun and casual puzzle game, you may want to consider free-to-play title Quads.
Quads is a game all about sizes. In each turn, you're presented with a 10x10 grid of green, red, blue, and purple squares. Your aim is simply to tap on the colour that covers the most squares. It's really that simple.
Each time you successfully tap on the largest area and earn points, the on-screen colours shift and move around on the game board. You repeat the process until the in-game timer ticks down to zero.
You can spend the points (known as quads) you earn as you play in the in-game shop on a range of power-ups that enable you to - among other things - extend the abovementio…

To understand Fluxx by Playdek and Looney Labs you have to understand 'madness' itself. If you reach back to the days of your youth, there are undoubtedly examples of play time with friends where 'playing' was all that mattered - rules existed in a basic sense, but they were ever-changing and evolving, almost at random. Fluxx embodies this free-spirited insanity to create a card game that is never the same game each time you play it; in fact it's entirely different from round to round,…

Credit where due, Totem Runner by Yagoda Productions and Chillingo isn't just a beautiful game, it's a beautiful concept too. Despite joining the throng of auto-runners already available, the primarily passive play style, combined with tightly designed stages, make it a refreshing casual distraction.
We're jumping ahead though, so lets get back to basics. You play as a mystic (with distinctly Mayan overtones) who is braving the darkness sweeping the world. By harnessing the power of l…

Developer Psyonix is no stranger to the Unreal Engine having worked with Epic Games on Unreal Tournament 2004 to create Onslaught mode. As such it's no surprise to see their latest release sporting the game engine in ARC Squadron, bringing out its full beautiful potential, but most importantly, creating a fun shoot'em-up too.
Immediate comparisons draw upon the likes of games such as Star Fox, though the elegant control scheme of automatically firing while swiping to move and dodge lo…

So many auto-runners vie for attention now it can seem like a vast generic blur of jumping, sliding and coin-grabbing albeit with a gimmick here or there to prop it up. Punch Quest by Rocketcat Games and Madgarden makes no apologies for jumping in on the bandwagon, but it does so with as much pomp and excitement as Jetpack Joyride, while also bringing something far more interesting to the table - near endless brawling.
The name says it all - your character starts and ends their…

[This title was featured as the Mini Review for the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 12th of October, 2012]
This isn't so much a game as it is an open-ended toy of sorts. Topia World Builder is a risky release from Crescent Moon Games and Solid 60, but there's method behind the madness.
With news of the game appearing around the same time as From Dust on the XBLA, it touted some impressive features, many of which have been realized in this current version.
Although mostly a free-play tit…

Some would argue that the iOS platform is always going to be a casual one - of course there's the occasional 'hardcore' release, but with so much money to be made off those who just want a quick, but fun distraction, it's easy to see why deep and challenging titles aren't more common. Snail Bob is yet another 3-star physics puzzler, joining the already large fray, but it goes for that third, even more elusive market, the young-gamer.
Snail Bob just wants to get home, but on the way he…

Cute protagonist? Check. Three-star system to unlock content? Check. Physics-based gameplay system? Triple check. It’s almost a recipe for mundanity by now, but A Crowd of Monsters and Bulkypix have taken the best aspects of these games, paired it with perhaps the most disturbing penalty system I’ve seen in a while and packaged it with quickly unlocking content that scales to your skill level with uncanny precision.
This is Sugar Kid, and I don’t think I’ll be…

When it comes to the Rayman series, I feel as though it has been a slow-burner - though always fun, the success of its spin-offs has brought the series full-circle and we’re being reminded of what it feels like to play a high-quality platformer. Rayman Jungle Run may strip-out the depth of a regular Rayman game, but what’s left is far from casual in its challenge as you use taps to jump, glide, wall-run and yes, even punch your way through stages.
To reduce the controls to…

The freemium model has a tendency to get stuck in its tracks, spitting out titles with similar themes or at least based on similar genres. With this in mind it's no wonder gamers are clearly divided on whether they love or hate these sorts of titles. Little Masters takes a slightly different tack, modeling itself after NimbleBit's coin/bux driven system to speed up the Pokemon-inspired gameplay.
'Inspired' might be putting it lightly - those familiar with the classic monster-catching…

Illusion Labs are quickly working their way up my list of developers I can trust to provide fresh and compelling reasons to pick up an iOS device. Blast-A-Way is their latest release and you’re charged with the task of returning the young ‘boxies’ back to safety by blasting them free of the blocks they’re stuck inside.
Those used to navigating touch-screen interfaces will appreciate the smart, casual simplicity of Blast-A-Way’s controls. Dragging one of t…

[KooZac was featured as the Mini-Review for the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 24th of August, 2012]
Square Enix have certainly been trying a new approach when it comes to the iOS platform - while their premium RPGs are certainly worthwhile, their casual titles often leave out something in their final release. Or rather something is left in that should be left out - a hand in your pocket.
KooZac is a brain-tickling arcade puzzler that challenges players to throw down numbered blocks in…